Wednesday, August 31, 2011

This is what I believe to be the most epic thing I've done since starting this blog. It's all sorts of silly, epic, and to some I'd imagine offensive. I have officially renounced my atheism. If that sentence can even make sense. One can't really renounce a non-religion, can they?

I am now an officially ordained minister of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. I'm now The Reverend Cody Durkin. I've seen the noodly light of Pastafarianism. Note the raised gold seal. This is a legitimate document.

Click image to view full.

If that isn't the biggest slap in the face to the validity of religion, I don't know what is.
I can legally use Reverend in front of my name now. Seriously. I can also officiate wedding ceremonies. Laws do vary between states (even counties) in the US, and I haven't researched international laws. Weddings are such a business in Nevada (go Las Vegas!) that they have some unique requirements. However, in most other states including my resident state of Idaho, one only needs to be a judge, governor, mayor or an ordained minister of any denomination. [Idaho Code Section 32-303]

Any. Denomination.

FSM is a real, legitimate religion, as much as any other. The fact that many see this is as a satirical religion doesn’t change the fact that by any standard one can come up with, our religion is as legitimate as any other. And *that* is the point.

They'd have one hell of a First Amendment case on their hands if they tried to deny it.

What's that sound? Yeah, I didn't hear it either. I expected to hear the sound of the sanctity of marriage draining away, but I guess celebrities already drained that. The "we must protect the sanctity of marriage" people need to wake up to reality. Same-sex marriage is the least of their worries. I can now legally perform marriage ceremonies, that are recognized by the government, in the name of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

Some religions oppose same-sex marriage. My religion supports it. The government has no right to deny my people their Noodle-given right to marry someone of the same sex any more than it can deny a man and a woman to get married under the Christian God. And *that* is my point.

I know plenty of atheists who have felt a calling to be spiritual leaders and gone on to be professional pastors. My real concern, however, is that you should have a seminary degree from a properly accredited Pastafarian institution.